Canadian PM Trudeau appears to struggle when answering question on Nijjar killing probe

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to struggle when asked about the progress of his government's probe into the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Trudeau was at an event in Vancouver on Thursday (Mar 28) when he was asked about how India's cooperation was shaping up on the investigation of Nijjar "when Canada has credible allegations and India expects Canada to complete its own investigation first?"

Trudeau paused for a moment, and went on to repeat his claims on Indian agents' involvement in the killing.

"The killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is something that we all should take extremely seriously. The credible allegations that agents of the Indian government were involved in--that is something that we did not declare lightly, but our responsibility to protect all Canadians from illegal actions by foreign governments is something that, as a country grounded in diversity, we need to take very seriously," he said.

Also read | Five-Eyes partner New Zealand raises doubt over Canada's Nijjar killing 'evidence' against India: Reports

The video of Trudeau's remarks was shared by CPAC TV.

The prime minister further said that Ottawa was working with New Delhi to get to the bottom of the matter. 

The allegation and strain in Ottawa-New Delhi relations

This is not the first time that Trudeau has spoken about Nijjar's killing. 

Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2020, was shot and killed as he came out of a Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023.

Also watch | Nijjar killing: India refuses to aid Canada in probe till evidence is shared

In September last year, Trudeau said Canadian security agencies had "credible allegations" of a potential link between the Indian government and Nijjar's killing.

New Delhi rejected the Canadian PM's claim and said that it diverted attention from the activities of Khalistan operatives living in Canada.

Trudeau's allegation also marked yet another strain in the relations between the two countries. 

The Indian foreign ministry has said that Canada has not been able to present any evidence to back its claims over the killing.

(With inputs from agencies)